Stripping Away Memories Paid in Skin and Blood
by FascistChairLover
Summary: Wade's left moments melted before his eyes.   No one could save him, not his friends, not Dalton, and especially not himself.   Pain burned in him brighter than anything he ever felt and he knew he just wanted to give up and let his fire die.


Hot wax splattered over him. It ran in a continuous stream, dotting his body with pinpoints of burning pain. Slowly, it all began to meld into one large, dull ache. Not that the pain grew less intense – it was the worst he had ever felt in his life – but his body seemed to accept its fate and was starting to go into shut down. It knew before his brain could even begin to fathom and accept the fact: he was going to die.

Wade couldn't even close his eyes. He couldn't sink into darkness or just let go. Strapped to a chair, being covered in searing, burning wax with his eyes held open – that was how he was going to die. Surely, this would kill him eventually. It made sense with the life he lived, to die like this.

He tried to blink. No it didn't. He should die old; he should have a boring death. He never took any risks. This didn't make sense.

Yes, it did.

His brother was calling him and Wade was running as fast as he could. He looked up to his brother. He wasn't much older than him but he had always taken care of him.

"Come on, Wade, hurry up." Wade tried to run faster and faster. He didn't want to make them wait. They never had time to stop or wait. No matter what he did, he was getting nowhere. Finally, he glanced down and saw it. Red, soft wax was covering his feet, moving up his legs. Without trying, he knew he'd never get free.

Wade looked up to call out at his family, to tell them to move on without him because he wouldn't be able to make it. That'd be okay, so long as they were fine. He no one, though. Of course. He didn't have a family anymore. His mother was gone and his father had never really been there. And his brother, he had been taken, too. It was too painful to remember, more painful than the hot wax.

Fuck, the wax.

Wade tried to blink again but it was no use. How could he sleep without closing his eyes? The pain was gone – the crippling, sharp tearing – and was replaced by a pulsating rhythm of loss. It wasn't quite pain but it echoed all over his body, as if to remind him that he was slowly dying. The wax seemed to have cooled but his skin felt like smoldering embers. They would never stop burning. He would never stop feeling this heat, even after he died.

Then Wade heard a muted sound. Something was moving, he could see it out of the corner of his eye but nothing else. Maybe it was the wax freak coming to finish him off. He hoped so. Wade wished for death. He was beyond living, hoping for life, and fighting for it. Wade was done.

"Wade?"

Dalton. Jesus fuck it was Dalton. All he could do was look at him. Dalton could save him. He could live. Dalton just needed to hurry up and think of something before wax face came back.

'Hurry, Dalton, hurry. He's coming back, I know he is. Then he'll turn you into one, too.' Wade silently urged.

"Hold tight, man. Hold tight. I'm going to get you out of here." Dalton wasn't doing a good job of convincing anyone but Wade clung to it and cheered him on.

If he thought the searing pain of the wax was unbearable, it was nothing compared to this. His entire body screamed as part of him was peeled off. Dalton kept going. He didn't know whether to scream or urge him on. He couldn't do anything but sit here as more skin came off. The right side of his face was burning with agony, ten times worse than anything the wax had done. Fuck, kill him now. There was no way Dalton could do anything about it. Just end him.

Then he saw him and he knew the end was near. His vision was blurred from holding his eyes open for so long but he could see the distinctive white face looming closer. Wade couldn't warn Dalton or anything. He could only sit there and watch, hoping Dalton would look and see the wax face behind him. No sound, no movement, nothing. His eyes widened and widened as he got closer. Beyond the screaming pain was only his desire to scream at Dalton. 'Get out, get out.' Save yourself. I have no hope.

The man charged with a weapon and Wade looked away, hoping it would hit him first. Let it be over, please, let it be done.

A loud gunshot seemed to break through the wax layer of his ears and nearly deafened him. Dalton jumped out of the way, taking more skin with him and the wax face went down before he could reach him. Wade frantically looked around, trying to place where the shot came from. Had Nick found them? Or Carly? Where was Carly?

Then he saw the man but he couldn't place him. Maybe he had seen him in town. Was he aiming for wax face or them? Dalton still had to run. Wade watched as the man rushed forward.

"Get the fuck out of here, man." He yelled to Dalton, kicking at him as he passed. Then he turned to Wade and stooped to look at him in the eyes. Those green eyes, he remembered them. Had he dreamed about them? Dalton seemed to debate for a second about leaving him here with this stranger but something made up his mind and he bolted.

"Don't worry, Sammy. We're gonna get you out of here. Just stay calm." Wade didn't know what he was talking about, but from the wet eyes and near hysterical voice, he hoped the man would take his own advice. The man, Wade felt like he should know his name, lifted a hand and he flinched. He was going to try the same thing as Dalton. No more, he couldn't take more of that. He patted his cheek with his fingers, testing the wax, and then pressed a torn edge up again against his skin.

Wade wanted to cry out, 'No more tearing. No more,' but he didn't think this stranger would do any more damage than Dalton had.

Wade could sense it before he heard or saw it – it was pure instinct – but he knew the wax man was getting up. He urged the man with his eyes. This guy had a gun; he had a fighting chance against him. He could do this, if only he'd turn around and stop staring at Wade. Wade couldn't know if it was his eyes that conveyed the message properly or if he had had the same sense Wade had but he turned around just as the wax man was getting up.

The dark stranger delivered a swift kick to the wax face's side, sending him crashing into a nearby table. "You son of a bitch." He holstered his gun and stepped forward to kick the man again while he was on the ground. "How dare you touch my brother?" Wade had never seen someone so enraged and violent.

Brother?  
>After hoisting him up with one hand, the man brought the masked man down onto a table, crushing all the glass items on it and maybe his back. He seemed satisfied with what he had done because he turned back around to Wade and stepped forward. "Now, how are we gonna get you out of here?" His uncertainty was etched in all the lines of his face as it twisted in worry. Wade could only sympathize. If he had any ideas, he could hardly translate them for this man to try. The worry started to disappear and was replaced by a set determined this that seemed almost comforting. "You're going to be okay." Wade didn't know whose benefit that was for but it sure as Hell made him feel a little better.<p>

The stranger was on eye-level with him as he slowly prodded at his chest and arms. It didn't hurt anymore. Adrenaline and desensitization made it seem like dull, muffled thuds. The worry was starting to seep back onto this man's face. All Wade wanted to do was close his eyes and let what would happen be. He had no idea what would work, what would get this shit off of him without taking half of his body with it. If this guy found a way, great, if he could just sleep, that'd be good, too.

A slap jarred him and sent sparks of pain all along his face, neck, and chest. "Don't you give up on me, Sammy. You're getting out of this." Was he Sammy? Who the Hell was he? Worry had completely overrun his face and now it was being chased out by a trace of helplessness and complete desperation. Wade tried to blink at him.

Finally, he turned away and called out. "Bobby, get in here. I need some fucking help." His voice was shaking, and now that Wade looked, so were his hands. Perhaps he was realizing there was no way out of this. Waiting until the wax completely cooled meant it would take absolutely everything, more so than just the top skin. But now, how could he survive losing the top layers of skin all over his body? There wasn't a way, unless a world class hospital just happened to be hanging around a corner that he had managed to miss on the way in.

A scruff man walked in, holding some kind of gun, too, it seemed. "The others are taken care of and the other freak is gone." He stepped forward and eyed the twisted body of wax face. Clearly, the first guy was not to be screwed with.

He barely nodded with a "good" before gesturing to Wade. The second Bobby looked at him, hope actually filled Wade. This man knew what he was doing and he was sure of himself. "Well, shit, boy, why haven't you put him out of his misery, yet?" That hope was misplaced, it seemed. Although he could see the positive points in that idea. No more pain, just sleep. Bobby stepped closer, tensing his right arm into a fist.  
>"No, Bobby." The first one pushed him back without even taking his eyes off of Wade. "We can't put him out. It's like he's on the verge of giving up and if he goes under, he isn't surfacing again. He's not strong enough and we took too damn long to find him." He moved forward and started into Wade's eyes again. "Plus, he doesn't remember me, I don't think."<p>

Bobby stepped closer again, without the intent to incapacitate. "Of course he doesn't. That's normal. This goopy shit is the hard part but we know how to deal with that." He poked at Wade just like Dalton and the other guy had. Wade could only imagine how terrifying he looked. Instinctively, he almost blinked. Both men were barely two blobs of indistinct shapes. "Burn him. I got the other."

The first man, notably darker in color, did as he was told while he argued. "How is that gonna help? They're just freaks. Not a ghost bone in their sick bodies." He moved back towards where wax face had laid and did something, then a bright light bloomed in Wade's vision.

After thoroughly giving Wade a once over, Bobby glanced over. "It's all part of the illusion. Burn those parts and this should be easy to get rid of. This stuff?" He poked at Wade once more. "Is Sam's cocoon. This is the last defense before we break him free." His fingers ran up Wade's cheek and pinched at the wax around his eye. He started to tug at the wax. "See?" Please, God, don't do that, Wade wanted to cry. Not his fucking eyes. But as Bobby pulled away gently the wax came off, almost cleanly, with only a minor tear along his soft lid. Wade didn't fucking care. He blinked furiously in his right eye as tears welled up and ran down freely. God, he might actually be free. They might have saved him.

The first stranger that had saved his life pushed forward and nearly elbowed Bobby out of the way. Although, Wade doubted they were strangers. His shaking hands rose to rub along Wade's lips as if he was afraid to pinch and pull like Bobby he. Finally, he got some off, enough to let Wade breath through his mouth. "Damn it, say something, Sammy."

"He better say that he won't run off like that again, especially when we're hunting what we are." Bobby commented as he removed most of the wax from Wade's other eyelid. He had the feeling no one was listening.

More wax came off from his lips. "Say something to me, Sammy. Tell your brother what a dumbass you've been and how you plan to make it up to him with a big burger and a paid night with a high class whore? Tell me anything, you fucker." Wade couldn't tell who's eyes were watering more but he couldn't stop blinking and screaming internally at whoever was listening. He would live, all because of them. They saved him. "Sam, you in there?" His features started to tinge with annoyance as he clasped Wade's shoulders.

Finally: "Dean?"


End file.
